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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 11, 2006 Bob Lewis, left, and Robert Higgins, right, visit with Higgins' sister, Pat Dunne of Arizona, in their Jacksonville yard. The men bought the downtown property seven years ago and since have aimed to transform it, in Higgins� words, into a Forever green Jacksonville pair create lush secluded garden with a waterfall, trellises as haven from downtown bustle By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune Green is good. Green all year long is even better. That's how Robert Higgins and Robert Lewis of Jacksonville approach their big garden behind the historic Helms house — not as a fount of flowers or vegetables, but rather as a cozy, lush, private outdoor green room with flora to shield them from the downtown neighborhood and the sounds of a waterfall to blanket any noise. In the seven years since they bought the two-story Italianate home, they've spared no effort in creating multiple levels of stone patios, rock work, welded steel arbors and lattices and a tiered fountain and fish pool. Their aim is not to showcase any gardening skills, says Higgins, but to relax at day's end with a glass of wine and a group of friends in patio chairs in a "subtle, beautiful and secluded setting." "Bob and Robert," as they are known in town, have succeeded well, establishing a gently sloping hillside of green visible through all seasons — and readily viewed in the winter from the kitchen and dining area inside. "I do a lot of work at the stove," says Lewis, "and it's nice all year long to look out and see that big artichoke plant, always green." Advertisement The pair, whose garden is part of Soroptimist International's annual garden tour this month, show how easily you can succeed without much gardening expertise. As Lewis sums it up, "I don't like dirt. When I see a bare spot in the garden bigger than three inches, I go to the Grange Co-op and ask Esther what she has that's perennial, evergreen and flowers once in a while." Higgins and Lewis have used extensive hired help to create and maintain the garden, which starts with an outdoor table, chairs and a fountain shaded by a dwarf birch, Japanese maple and huge English walnut tree right outside the kitchen doors. Snuggled up to the walnut are hostas, white bleeding hearts and a large bed of Sweet William, in whose center is a large bronze cherub with a planter on his head. Other metal sculptures dot the yard — a fish spouting water into the pond, a sunflower and two cranes which served as scarecrow to a heron that was getting in the habit of eating the pond fish. The yard's plentiful metalwork was fashioned from solid steel by Eric Cislow of Ashland, then acid-treated to make a coat of antiquey-looking rust. The motive: They didn't want anything that would fall apart or need painting. It forms four trellises about the garden. Adorning them are yellow climbing roses and clematis. Once a travel agent in San Francisco — and happy there — Higgins, with his partner, fell in love with Jacksonville on a short visit to see friends and ended up buying the home while here. Although Italianate, it was done up as a Victorian, something they changed back, discarding most of the white fencing and railroad-tie garden décor. Just two blocks off the main drag, the property has two double lots, with a huge piece of grass on the upper east part, just for space and "watching all the interesting people walking to Britt," which is just up the hill but not audible. "You can't get much better than this," says Higgins, pointing out low-wattage lighting scattered around the garden and allowing entertaining into warm evening hours. A modest vegetable garden occupies the highest planted terrace, growing lettuce, chard, garlic, snap peas, squash and zucchini. Just below it is a large rose garden, which should be starting to bloom by the tour date. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Here come the garden tours Saturday, May 20: Soroptimist International's fourth annual North Valley Garden Tour in Central Point and Jacksonville is set from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Master Gardeners will lead tours of six gardens, including the Jacksonville garden of Robert Higgins and Robert Lewis, featured on this page, the Oregon State University Research and Extension Center garden and four other area gardens. Tickets are $10 and can be ordered by calling 601-3437 days or 855-1851 evenings. On the day of the tour, tickets will be available for $12 at the Extension Center at 569 Hanley Road near Central Point. Proceeds will go to Soroptimist community service projects. Sunday, June 4: American Association of University Women's annual Ashland garden tour is set from 1 to 5 p.m. The self-guided tour showcases five gardens, including the garden of a landscaping company executive, a woodland garden containing "rooms," a garden that showcases color themes and the garden of the owners of a container garden nursery. The fifth garden is recently won a national award. As part of the tour, Weisinger's Winery will offer refreshments, a raffle and vineyard tours. Wine tasting will be available for a nominal fee. Tickets are available at the Ashland Grange Co-Op, 421 A St.; Paddington Station, 125 E. Main St.; and Weisinger's Winery. The cost is $12 in advance, $15 day of, and $5 for children under age 12. For information, contact Carol Rugg, 512-9517, or Jody Willis, 488-3216. Proceeds will support the Ashland branch's mission and educational programs. Saturday, June 24: The Oregon Conservatory for the Performing Arts plans a tour of seven Medford- and Jacksonville-area water gardens from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sites include an Asian-themed "secret" garden in a subdivision; an urban home with water-surrounded stepping stones leading to the front door; a Jacksonville home with a 20-foot stream winding through trees; a Jacksonville home with multiple waterfalls and tiered pools; a Chinese garden with a waterfall on a busy Medford street; a professional landscape designer's garden with a series of waterfalls; and a modern home that features a fountain and a patio shaded by canvas sails. Tickets are $15 each and are available at Molly Reed Gifts and Home Interiors, 19 N. Bartlett St., Medford, and the Tasting Room, 690 N. Fifth St., Jacksonville. For information, call 535-8696 or 776-9118. 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